Hello Ya'll! Its been a while. Getting back into the fanfiction writing, so here you go! Hope you all enjoy -bows-
He was dreaming again.
Weightless, Sephiroth floated in the familiar darkness he'd become so accustomed to during sleep. It was quiet though, not a shriek or whisper at all. It was disorienting, considering he'd become so used to it. Idly, he theorized that maybe the beast had finally found him in the darkness, and was inches away from him, ready to devour every trace of the silver-haired man.
"Sephiroth? Your name is Sephiroth, right?"
Surprised, Sephiroth's eyes shot open, blinded for a few seconds. There was light. Bright, bright sunlight. His vision cleared, and he took a moment to size up his surroundings. Hovering above him was the visage of the beautiful blonde he'd dreamed of briefly the previous night. It took him a moment to realize that his head was resting in said blondes lap, soft hands gently holding the silver-haired man's head.
Sky-blue eyes watched him intently, seemingly waiting for an answer to a question Sephiroth wasn't sure he'd heard.
"I... what?'
The bronzed young man laughed, a charming sound that soothed Sephiroth in a way he could not describe. The blonde calmed his laughter and spoke again.
"I asked your name," he smiled, sweetly. "Weren't you listening?"
Sephiroth blinked, confused by the question, like he couldn't remember if he even had a name. The look on his face sent the blonde into a giggling fit, which shook the silver-haired man's head about, disorienting him further. Eventually the spiky-haired man calmed again, taking a hearty breath before his watery eyes peered back down at Sephiroth.
"You make me laugh." He gave Sephiroth a very genuine smile, which gave the man a flutter in his stomach. The young man cupped the silver-haired man's face, and gently stroked his cheeks with his thumbs to soothe him from confusion.
"Your name is Sephiroth, right?"
Oh, yes, right. He did have a name, and that was it. He nodded gently at the blonde, his muddled mind beginning to clear up just a little.
"Yes, that is my name. May I ask yours?"
The young man gave him a beaming grin in response.
"Of course! My name is Cloud. Pleasure to meet you, Sephiroth!"
Sephiroth blinked at him, still quite mesmerized. He surveyed the young man who's lap his head rested upon, taking in his features again. Warm, honey bronze skin, bright blonde hair reaching up in soft, gravity defying spikes, and bright sky-blue eyes like glittering sapphires lit by bright sunlight.
"Where am I?" He asked, his gaze roaming over the grassy field they were in, bright emerald green and full of the most beautiful flowers he'd ever seen. The blonde took in a deep breath, eyes wandering to the sky.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" He looked back down at Sephiroth, smiling, eyes serene. "This place...it's my safe space, my favorite nook. I come here to find peace and quiet."
Sephiroth nodded. "I can understand why. It's perfect…" he sighed, enjoying the warm breeze that brushed against his cheeks and ruffled his fine hair. The wind carried the scent of sweet florals and the sharp brightness of lush green grasses. His eyes fluttered closed, enjoying a moment of peace in dream that he was most often not afforded.
"How did I get here?" Sephiroth whispered, eyes still closed. Cloud gently ran his thumb across Sephiroth's cheek, brushing strands of silver hair from his face. The general's eyes opened slowly, locking onto blue orbs observing him with a smile.
"I brought you here, of course."
For the first time since arriving in this place, Sephiroth frowned. He was confused. How could the young man have brought him anywhere? Wasn't he still asleep? All he'd ever dreamt about was darkness and fear, why suddenly was this happening now? He didn't know what to think, or how to feel. He opened his mouth to ask a question but was startled when Cloud suddenly whipped his head around to look behind himself. After a moment he turned back to Sephiroth, a small smile on his face.
"Seems like it's time to wake up, you've got guests."
The lovely visions blurred out and faded, and he was floating once again.
He awoke slowly. He could hear voices, familiar and reassuring. It took a few moments before he could decipher what they were saying.
"You put a Chicobo in his office? Really, Zachary?"
"Noooo! I didn't! But he thought I did. Can you believe it? Me? I'm an angel."
Sephiroth heard a trill from close by. Zack made a noise in response.
"See? Even the Chicobo agrees! Totally innocent."
Sephiroth chuckled sleepily, happy to hear his lovers silly quarrelling.
"Seph!" Zack moved around the couch to Sephiroth's head and rained kisses down all over his lips and face. He laughed a deep, joyful rumble, returning kisses in between laughter. Gaia, he had missed them.
After the flurry of kisses had ceased, Zack was not-so-gently nudged out of the way by Genesis' right elbow, and the redhead swooped down and drew the silver-haired man into a deep, passionate kiss. Sephiroth could smell the cinnamon fragrance of the man's special dumb apple-cinnamon shampoo. He loved it. It was an expensive, handmade item costing 200 gil a bottle, but Genesis adored the smell and refused to use anything else. His lover had once told him that one of the reasons he kept his hair so short was because the more hair you have, the more shampoo you need, and if he had longer hair, say Sephiroth's length, he'd go broke buying the stuff.
Eventually their lips parted, little breathless gasps escaping them as they caught their breath, smiling at each other. A perturbed keen rang out, catching all of their attention's. They all looked to the little fluff ball still sitting on Sephiroth's chest, who was looking annoyedly at Genesis. The red head glared back at the little bird, his left eyebrow twitching in annoyance. Sephiroth, not noticing the sudden and strange animosity between the two, reached out to the Chicobo.
"You ok, Sora? Your wing hurting?" The little bird cooed softly, and climbed up farther onto Sephiroth's chest, curling up just beneath his chin. The silver-haired man gently pet the Chicobo's uninjured side and was rewarded with adorable happy peeping. Zack was off to the side, sitting sideways on Sephiroth's exercise bike, watching curiously at the exchange.
Genesis' mouth twitched downward into a frown, and he straightened himself from his leaned over position. He skirted around the couch and dropped his shoulder bag down onto Sephiroth's thick glass coffee table. He turned back to his silver-haired lover and said, "You've named it already? You're keeping it, then?" his voice seemed tight, as if he might be upset. Sephiroth was very confused by the response.
The Chicobo keened angrily, as if insulted by being referred to as an 'it' and hopped around on Sephiroth's chest in agitation. Genesis glared at the little bird and pointed a finger at it and spoke through gritted teeth. "Now don't get sassy with me, you mangy ball of fluff! I. Will. Eat. You!" The Chicobo was also having none of Genesis' sass and screeched angrily at him with all the fierceness a small, adorable fluff ball could manage. They shouted at each other for a few moments, one with words, the other with angry bird noises. A loud bellow of laughter echoed from behind them, startling them into silence. It was Zack.
"Oh my GOD, Genesis! Are you seriously jealous of that little Chicobo!?" Zack was laughing so hard he could barely breathe. He was smacking the handlebar of the exercise machine, unable to contain his humor, and overwhelmed at the hilarious faces they were all making at him. Genesis looked grumpy and caught off guard, the Chicobo looked completely surprised, and Sephiroth was just confused.
"W-What? N-No! I am NOT jealous of some stupid bird! I just…" Zack was wheezing he was laughing so hard. It made Genesis even madder, and he practically shouted at the dark-haired man, "Shut UP, Zack! It's not funny! I'm not jealous, you're crazy!" The red head threw his hands up and stormed off towards the kitchen mumbling obscenities.
"Aww, don't be that way, Genesis!" he gasped, desperately trying to catch his breath. "It's really cute when you get all jelly!" Another screeched 'shut up, Zack!' echoed from the kitchen, a smashing sound heard in the aftermath.
Sephiroth frowned and shouted, "Don't break my stuff, Genesis!"
The slam of a cabinet, and the sound of the fridge door opening, and closing were Genesis' only response. A single 'pop' sound was heard, and a few minutes later found the red head back in the living room, a glass of white wine held delicately in his left hand. He glared at Zack, who had just finally caught his breath. Sephiroth watched their interaction, exhausted.
He loved Genesis to hell and back, and he would forever, but god damn the man was jealous. Sephiroth couldn't talk to anyone outside of their foursome around the red head, lest he automatically assume they were trying to get into the generals tight leather pants. Once, he'd been in the elevator making his way up to his office and chatting with another employee, a soft-spoken man named Reeve, when Genesis had gotten on. He'd noticed right away that the two had been talking and had quite immediately stated to Reeve that he would flay the man's balls if they ever got too close to Sephiroth. The poor guy had looked like he might shit himself, and got off at the next stop, bolting from the elevator in terror. Sephiroth had tried to apologize to the timid man at a later date, but poor Reeve had been too nervous to ever come near him again.
He sighed to himself, exhausted and not really wanting to deal with the drama. Sephiroth was not a jealous person, and therefore did not really understand the response. He loved Genesis, he loved all three of his lovers, and he knew they loved him as deeply, so to him the response was completely unnecessary. It was frustrating sometimes, but he reminded himself that Genesis' jealousy came from a place of insecurity, one that stemmed from the betrayal and abandonment of his parents as a child. He was afraid that they, his lovers, would leave him, too, and that somehow it would be because of his own failings. It was so far from the truth, but it was hard to convince Genesis of this. All he could do was stick around and remind the red head of how deeply he was loved.
Zack looked at Genesis, a wide smile on his face. "Come on Gen, lookit the little guy! He's so cute! How could you not like the spikey-headed little birdie?" Zack dropped off the exercise bike and walked over to the couch, crouched down and reached out to the Chicobo, not petting the fluff until given permission. The bird was unsure at first, but after a moment of what looked like consideration, he reached out and nuzzled Zack's hand with a lilting trill. "See Gen, look? He's so sweet! Definitely not the face of a home-wrecking, gold digging avian!"
Sephiroth couldn't help it, he lost it. Deep, rich laughter echoed in the apartment, which startled the little bird so bad he almost fell off the silver haired man's chest. Zack caught the baby Chicobo before he fell off the couch, holding him gently against his chest, petting the little bird and trying to ease it's stress as it peeped anxiously. Genesis hid a small smile behind his wine glass, Sephiroth's laughter seeming to melt away his stress. He took a sip to hide his laughter and made his way over to Zack's previous perch. He settled down on the bike and watched his dark-haired lover settle down on the couch next to Sephiroth, the little bird in his lap. He'd never admit this to anyone else, but watching the little fluff ball in Zack's lap, keening softly in response to the sweet baby talk issuing from the man's lips, he thought that maybe the little Chicobo might be too cute to eat. Maybe.
Sephiroth's laughter died down, eyes sparkling and watery from laughing so hard. He wiped his eyes, and at realizing the comfortable silence, quickly made a subject change. "How was your day?"
Genesis moaned. "Awful! Just awful. Zack and I got called into a emergency assignment last night. Apparently one of Hojo's monsters escaped the lab yesterday, and they sent us out to look for it." He downed half his glass of wine in one go, sighing in delight at the refreshing sweetness of a good Moscato. "Not only were we up all night, but all of today as well, looking for whatever nightmare that lunatic spawned this time." He downed the rest of his wine, licking the remnant sweetness from his lips.
Genesis sighed in sudden frustration. "What was the point of doing all that SOLDIER training, working up to first class, if all they ever put us on is Gaia-damned garbage duty?"
Sephiroth gave him a sympathetic look, nodding. "I know what you mean, Gen. I think they're still punishing us for that last mission in Wutai, for not following orders." The silver haired man sighed tiredly, rubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands. "It doesn't matter that things turned out fine, that they still made a profit. We disobeyed, and Shinra now has to regain control of us. We'll have to tread carefully for a while, but it'll pass."
Genesis huffed but nodded. "I know Seph, doesn't mean I have to like it, though." He dropped from his perch, sauntering back into the kitchen, running a hand through Sephiroth's hair as he passed the man. The clink of glass against glass was heard from the other room as the red head poured himself some more wine.
Sephiroth turned to Zack. "Did you find it, Hojo's monster?"
Zack shook his head, tired but relaxed as he pet the little Chicobo in his lap. "We looked everywhere, swept every damn floor in the place, SO many floors, but didn't find anything. We even swept the sectors closest to the Shinra building just in case. Nada, zilch, zero." The dark-haired man scratched at his stubbly face, exhausted just thinking about all the searching they did today. "Either it escaped into the populace, which we'll hear about when it eats someone, or it's still here somewhere, hiding. Not sure which would be worse, honestly." Sephiroth nodded in understanding, also indecisive about which option would be worse.
Genesis appeared suddenly, leaning over the back of the couch with a freshly filled wineglass. He looked thoughtfully at the Chicobo, considering. Sephiroth watched him curiously and opened his mouth to ask about it when Zack beat him to it.
"What's on your mind, Gen?" The dark-haired man had found a really good scritch spot on the little bird, and the fluffball had basically become pudding in his lap. Genesis hummed, pressing the wineglass against his right cheek.
"Could this little Chicobo be…" he tilted his head, unsure and with a little nervousness, "Hojo's escaped beastie? I mean, Seph, you did find him in your office around the same time we were looking for him…" All three of them went silent suddenly, all eyes on the Chicobo. When said fluff noticed he was no longer being scritched at that oh so wonderful spot on the back of his neck, he looked up at them in confusion, realizing they were all staring at him as if waiting for something to happen. The little bird trilled at them curiously, fluffing up and snuggling further against Zacks chest.
As if a spell had been broken, they all blinked, Sephiroth letting out a sigh of relief. Zack went back to scritching the Chicobo, a small smile on his face. "Nah Gen, there's no way! He's too cute and sweet to be one of Hojo's freaky monsters."
Genesis hummed thoughtfully. "So was the Pug."
Both Zack and Sephiroth shuddered, repulsion clear on their faces. Genesis came around to the front of the couch and sat down in the small bit of space between the stretched out Sephiroth on the left most side, and Zack who was sitting cross-legged on the right most end. He sipped his wine, side-eye watching the little bird.
"Ughh Gen, did you have to bring that up!? I'd almost completely repressed that memory, too!" Sephiroth nodded emphatically in agreement.
The pug had been one of Hojo's "Special" projects. The three of them had come across it one afternoon while visiting the labs. Sephiroth and Genesis had a weekly check-up to do with Hojo and Hollander, and Zack had tagged along. It must have just escaped when they arrived, because they'd found it right near to entrance to the Labs. They had thought it might be one of the test animals the scientists used to try out new serums on, and they had flocked to the cute little animal to give it some pets, and maybe rescue it from a terrible fate.
Zack had been the first to it. He absolutely adored dogs and had his hands on it before Sephiroth or Genesis had a chance to blink. Everything had been fine the first ten minutes of cooing and petting and scritching behind the ears, but things went wrong fast. Someone somewhere in the lab had dropped something heavy and made of glass, and the loud shattering echoed through the space, startling them, the Pug most of all. The little dogs head turned upward, and its throat opened up into a toothy maw with writhing black tentacles emerging from its depths. It had grabbed one of Zack's arms with its slimy appendages and he screamed like a little girl, they all had, really, and the sound had thankfully alerted the labs staff who came running to help.
Sephiroth had, for a year after that, been suspicious of any and all animals he came across, lest it not be at all what it seemed. Zack's love of dogs turned into a phobia after the incident, and two years of therapy barely got him to the point where he could stand to be in a room with any sort of canine. Genesis…well, honestly, he seemed fine afterward, for the most part. There had been a few times, though, where he'd mumbled in his sleep about "pug octopus' demons", but he was fine otherwise. The red head tended to keep his emotions to himself when they were uncomfortable, walling himself off to avoid looking weak. It always made Sephiroth sad to see, but he understood where it came from.
"Wouldn't it have gone crazy already, though? Seph startled it before, and it didn't monster out or anything." Zack said, feeling unsure and concerned.
Sephiroth nodded, "And I accidently sprained its wing this morning, and if that didn't trigger it, then nothing will." Genesis raised an eyebrow at that, and Zack let out a big, overly dramatic gasp.
"Seph, how could you! My poor little spikey baby!" he snuggled his face into the little birds head plumage, mumbling baby words to the little creature. "Who's my lil wuggums! That's you! Pretty little birdie!" The Chicobo peeped softly, barely awake at this point but nuzzling back against Zacks face. Despite the sudden rush of guilt at the reminder of his fault for what happened to the Chicobo's wing, he smiled, charmed by how taken Zack was with the bird. Genesis had also calmed down from before, and he noticed the red head hiding small smiles behind his glass of wine. He was pleased that they seemed to be accepting Sora, because he honestly couldn't imagine giving the little bird up at this point.
"So," Genesis said, taking a sip of his wine. "How was your day, Seph?"
It was a quiet, cool early autumn evening in the darkened slums under the plate. The streets were empty of people, save for one, who's hooded form flashed into view under the flickering lights of the streetlamps columned down the road's sidewalks. Their footsteps were barely audible, and they moved with purpose down the block, hooking a left and walking on for a while longer. They stopped eventually and leaned up against a wall that lead into a small alleyway. A gloveless hand slipped into a coat pocket pulling out a pack of cigarettes and a baby blue lighter. With the other hand the hood over their face was pulled back to reveal a woman with chin-length chocolate brown hair, and dark eyes. She pulled a single cigarette from the pack and placed it between her lips, lighting the end with her blue lighter.
"Kisaragi? That you, yo?" She took a deep drag, held it, then released it with a sigh.
"Yeah, Reno, it's me." The red head emerged from the darkness of the alley, one hand in his pocket, the other twirling around his shock baton.
"Had to check, can't be too careful these days, yo." She nodded in agreement, taking another pull from her cigarette.
He held a hand out to her, "Can I have one of those, yo?" Yuffie rolled her eyes at the red heads annoying habit of finishing every sentence with "yo". It made her want to punch him sometimes, but for the most part she liked Reno. He was reliable, and when he said he was going to do something, he did it. It was a useful personality to have as a part of the cause.
"Sure." She tossed the cigarettes and lighter to him which he caught with ease. He pulled a stick from the pack and tossed it back to Yuffie. He lit up and took a deep pull, releasing it into the cold night air. He leaned his back up against one of the dirty inner walls of the alley way, peering at Yuffie with almost glowing green eyes.
"So, why am I here, Kisaragi? Our next scheduled meet isn't for another month. What's up, yo?"
"Two things. First, I wanted an update on Shinra's progress in searching for us." Reno shrugged, tapping ash from his cancer stick.
"Nothing more than what I told you last meet. They know there's a group out there working against them and their operations, but they have no idea who or why." He took another drag, blowing the smoke upward towards the sky. "They don't even know the name yet, even though we've left clues around town." He shook his head, annoyed. "Idiots. Only a few of em are worth a damn, I just hope they don't catch on to me…don't want to have to hurt em, ya know?"
Yuffie nodded in agreement, a knowing smile appearing on her face. "Is one of those 'worth a damn' people that boss of yours? What's his name...Tseng?" Reno felt his face heat up, a small blush forming on his cheeks. Every time they met up for a chat, she would bring him up, knowingly, to embarrass him. You would think they were siblings with how much she enjoyed making him uncomfortable like this.
"Shut up, Yuffs! Dun wanna talk about it, yo." She grinned at him like a Cheshire cat, pleased that she'd hit a nerve.
"So sensitive, Reno! You should just tell him, yo. You might be surprised by his response." Yuffie took another pull of her cigarette and blew it out into the cool night air. "He might shoot you, that's a distinct possibility. He might also throw you down on his desk and fuck you like you're going out of style. Weigh the pros and cons, here," she took one more deep pull of her cig then dropped it to the pavement, crushing it beneath her heel. "If he shoots you, you're dead and it won't matter. If it's the latter, though, I mean," she shrugged, "I'm just saying, might be worth it."
Reno had his face in one hand, cheeks bright red, an uncomfortable noise coming from him. "I hate you, Kirasagi, I really do." She laughed softly, the chiming sound echoing in the quiet surroundings.
"I know, Reno, I live for it." The red-haired man laughed at that. He dropped his cigarette on the ground and crushed it out.
"So, what's the second thing, Yuffs?" She blinked for a minute, confused, then remembered.
"Ahh yes, that. I'd like you to keep an eye on General Sephiroth for me." Reno crossed his arms over his chest and frowned at the dark-haired woman.
"Why?" he asked suspiciously. "We don't have it out for him, do we? He's actually not a bad guy, none of the generals are. The shit they pulled at the end of the Wutai conflict kinda showed that, I think." She nodded, agreeing with his sentiments.
"No, it's nothing like that. We've got an asset among them that I want to keep an eye on." Reno tilted his head, eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Asset? What asset? Tha fucks going on, Kirasagi?" she rubbed her left cheek with one hand, a nervous habit she rarely showed. She knew he wouldn't like what she had to say next. Reno noticed the nervous tick and became more agitated when she didn't respond right away. "Yuffie!?"
"It's Cloud."
He blinked. Then blinked again, sure he hadn't heard correctly. "I'm sorry, I think I heard you wrong, boss. Say again?"
"You didn't hear me wrong, Reno." She sighed, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning back heavily against the brick wall. "After you sprung him from the labs, for whatever reason, he didn't leave. Sephiroth brought him to my hospital just this morning with a sprained wing."
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed. Reviews and constructive criticism always welcome! Thanks peeps :)
-PipTheAlmighty